"Mom?" You call out, your voice trembling.
The air is crisp and chilly tonight, everything's blanketed in darkness. Your eyes are useless to you, your fingers gently prodding and feeling around. Somehow, the power's gone out, even the street lights have been extinguished.
A few minutes ago, you heard what sounded like your mother screaming loudly, and a loud smash of glass. As you slowly advance up the corridor towards your parents' bedroom, the suspense builds as your nerves pound down on your body, shaking you like a leaf in the wind.
Knocking on the door, you draw your hand back.
"M-Mom?" You say, forcing you lips to open and barely managing almost a whisper.
The door suddenly drops from the frame, smacking down onto the floor in a loud snap. You jump, and your eyes stay widened as the curtain blows aside, allowing a moonbeam to cascade through the window.
It looks at you, it's eyes red and pulsating, a long tongue seems to whip and snap from the thing it holds, retracting back into it's maw with a slick noise. Raising the thing in it's sickly thin hands, you make out long hair cascading down it's middle, the rest of it a pale, almost skin colour. The creature stretches it and begin to clamber inside, as it raises it and moves around, you make out a vague human shape. Legs begin to reform, like socks being filled with feet. A sick cracking enables free movement of the creature's newly acquired legs, toes wavering in the air slowly. The object it's donning appears to be a skin of sorts, a fact which becomes clear to you as it stuffs it's arm inside, it's long, thin limbs filling the pale skin's, causing a macabre transformation. The creature erects it's spine and shrugs the torso on, pulling the lip of the stretched hole up and over it's shoulders. Breasts swell on it's chest, it's entire body rippling and morphing as if acclimating to it's new skin. It slowly pulls the head of the skin forward, stretching the hole. Ducking it's own inside, you watch as the creature moans, stretching and pushing it's face using it's new fingers. An alien, low whine slowly transitions into a high, feminine tone, you recognize it's voice.
"M-Mom?!" You stutter, taking a step back.
It opens it's eyes and stare as you, suddenly, it snaps it's head side to side, a sickening crack similar to the one prior sounds. You hear it gasp.
"David.. what are you doing awake baby?" Mom says.
You step back, tears begin to bubble up in your eyes. That's when you scream.
"NICK! TINA! HELP ME!" You scream as hard as you can.
Turning to run, you immediately bump into someone. Staggering backwards, you look up and see the moonlit face of your big sister, she's completely naked just like Mom.
"Davie, why are you screaming?" She says.
Falling onto your butt, you look behind your shoulder at your mother, or the thing wearing her. It stares down at you, silent. You look around frantically, noticing a sparkling area of broken glass on the floor next to Mom's bedside table.
"David, come, let's go back to sleep." Tina says.
You look back at her, she's standing over you, hand outstretched. You shake your head and cover your eyes.
"No-" You begin to scream again, before you feel something prick the back of your neck.
You awaken screaming, limbs flying as Mom grabs your shoulders and holds you to her breast.
"David, calm down! It was just a dream, baby!" She says.
You stop, then look up at her face, it looks normal. She releases you and smiles, a bit amused herself.
"Had another bad dream?" She asks, "You've been sick for a while now, I think that's why."
"It was really scary," You sputter, "You and Tina were.. zombies!"
Mom looks at you with a raised brow, before a smile spreads across her lips and she laughs loudly.
"Oh dear, zombies again?" She says, before you see her expression turn to a devious grin.
She grabs you and begins tickling your tummy, you double over in laughter.
"I'm gonna' eat your brains! Yaaargh!" She says.
The two of you laugh joyfully, before she stands. Walking to the dressing table, she picks up the ointment she was applying to your neck. You feel a cool sensation as the breeze blows over you, standing your hairs on end. Screwing the small container shut, she wipes her fingers in a towel and opens the bedroom door.
"Goodnight, Davie," she says, smiling, "Call me if you have another bad dream. I'll chase those zombies for you!"
You giggle and nod, she winks and shuts the light off. The door closes with a click.
Turning from the door, Mom's smile fades. She walks to her room and flips open her cellphone, dialing in a number quickly. The phone instantly picks up, and she whispers something into it. Clicking it off, she sets it down and walks to the window.
Gazing out into the neighbourhood, the dormant houses begin to spot the landscape quickly, bright yellow dots sparking to life. The light illuminates the dark night.
High above, an object of sorts hurtles through the atmosphere, before instantly halting right above the city, as if defying the laws of physics. It begins to brighten up, it's light similar to that of the houses below. Letting loose a shower of pods onto the city, it's centre bursts open, allowing a long root to drop. The root's end piercing the skyscraper directly below, ripping the building's left side clean off, sending glass splintering through the air, solid steel beams crushed to dust. Bursting through the earth's surface, it burrows deep. Before it begins to pulsate, it's pulses travelling upwards through the long appendage and into the main body.
A sound inaudible to the human ear rings through the air, Mom begins to cringe, before staggering to her knees. Groaning, her neck begins to bulge, before the flesh splits apart, her face warping itself before deflating, flopping forward as the creature bares it's own. It's mouth opens, and a long tendril emerges, slowly wagging and coiling in the air. Small fibers unfold from it's surface and begin to twitch. Quickly, the creature snaps it's tongue back into it's mouth and pulls Mom's head back over it's own. A little tugging and coaxing brings Mom's face back to life. Walking out of the bedroom, Tina, Nick and Dad soon follow behind her, emerging from their respective rooms and Dad's study. Unlocking the front door, they walk out, leaving it wide open.
The entire neighbourhood's population streams out of their homes, swarming towards the massive tendril. All except David, fast asleep.
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